Figure 5

Comparison of A.pp bacterial load, histological features, and serum cytokine concentrations among surviving transgenic (n = 4) and WT (n = 4) mice at 6 hpi and non-infected NC mice (n = 3). (A) Representative culture plates of A.pp colonies recovered from homogenized tissues of surviving transgenic and WT mice at 6 hpi and non-challenged NC mice. (B) Histological analysis of surviving transgenic and WT mice at 6 hpi and non-challenged NC mice. Representative sections are shown. Lung and trachea sections show that WT mice have severe focal congestion (indicated by arrow head), which was not found in the lungs of NC mice and challenged transgenic mice. Lung sections indicate that the alveolar spaces are clear in NC mice but have mild and severe neutrophilic infiltrates (indicated by arrows) in transgenic and WT mice, respectively. Liver and spleen sections show that all groups of mice have similar features. (C) Serum cytokine concentrations in surviving transgenic and WT mice at 6 hpi and non-challenged NC mice. Values labeled with different superscripts are significantly different at P < 0.01.